Regular train schedule restored

Metro-North trains will operate on a regular schedule Wednesday from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central Terminal.

Thomas Prendergast, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's chairman and CEO, said the rapid resumption of service was a credit to the around-the-clock work of Metro-North's employees.

Crews had to rebuild about 800 feet of track damaged in Sunday's derailment at Spuyten Duyvil.

Since the derailment, Metro-North had operated on a limited schedule between Poughkeepsie and Yonkers, with passengers then bused to the 242nd Street subway station in the Bronx.

The workaround almost doubled the length of the commute for many Hudson Valley residents. About 3,500 of the Hudson line's 18,000 morning rush-hour passengers board at the three stations in Dutchess County.

For now, trains will operate through Spuyten Duyvil on only one of the three tracks there. The other two, virtually destroyed, will be rebuilt in the coming days.

This limited track capacity could translate into delays of 10 to 15 minutes. Metro-North has combined three morning peak trains that originate in Westchester County to reduce congestion, but all other 172 Hudson line trains will operate as usual.